2015 Mountbatten
 Festival of Music

Jonathan Crowhurst, Director of the National Concert Band Symposium, reviews the latest recording from the Massed Bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines.

2015 Mountbatten
Festival of Music

The Massed Bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines
Conductor: Lt Col. Nick Grace OBE 

Chevron Recordings CHVCD39

Recorded live at The Royal Albert Hall under the direction of Lt Col. Nick Grace OBE, all the performances on this release by The Massed Bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines are impressive.

The programming is diverse with a well-crafted blend of entertainment and thought-provoking music appropriate for this very special occasion.

As well as the traditional elements that one expects to find on a concert recording such as this, including
the marches Colonel Bogey, Victory in Europe and HMS Ocean, there
are many subtle and interesting performances to listen too. Danzon No. 2 by Mexican composer, Arturo Marquez, and of course the concert finale Remembering Gallipoli (commissioned for the event) by Michael McDermott, in particular stood out.

The disc showcases many of the incredibly talented individuals within the band(s), in particular flautist Lizzie Merrell-Silk’s beautiful performance of Rachmaninov’s Vocalise. Outstanding trumpeter, Mark Upton and vocalist, Corporal Bugler John Sumner, amongst many others, also showcase their talents in Band Sergeant David Johnson’s medley Symphonic Animation, a tribute to many of
Walt Disney’s classic children’s films including Beauty and the Beast and Finding Nemo.

In addition, there are some clever arrangements throughout including Puttin’ on the Marmalade by Bandmaster, Tom Hodge, and Root Beer Rag by Michael McDermott. The former, an amalgamation of the Dixieland jazz standard, Clarinet Marmalade and the familiar
favourite, Puttin’ on the Ritz, featured Dan Button on clarinet and Alice Hudson on violin. Root Beer Rag (originally an instrumental track on American singer-songwriter, Billy Joel’s popular 1974 album, Streetlife Serenade) showcases two talented percussionists, Band Corporal Michael Smith and Musician Craig Sanders.

All of the performances are very enjoyable.
As many engineers will tell you, recording in the Royal Albert Hall is no easy feat, but the Royal Marines team has done wonderful work here. Of course much of the credit must go to the band for performing so well, but to capture that balance and all the nuances that a military band can achieve, in such a challenging acoustic, is testament to their skill and makes the recording all the more enjoyable.

If you want to hear Her Majesty’s Royal Marines at their very best and in all their pomp and circumstance, then this is an excellent and important record of this special event.

Programme 4/5
Performance 4/5
Recording 5/5
Presentation 4/5